What is Excessive Sleepiness?
Daytime sleepiness is feeling sleepy during the daylight hours, when most people are awake and alert.
What Causes Sleepiness?
Not getting enough sleep — sometimes by choice — is the most common cause of excessive sleepiness.
Daytime sleepiness can be caused by:
●Not having good sleep habits – For example, not having enough time to sleep at night or not having a regular sleep schedule.
A sleep disorder, such as:
•Sleep apnea – People with this condition stop breathing for short periods during sleep.
•Narcolepsy – People with this condition are very sleepy in the daytime and sometimes fall asleep suddenly during normal activities.
•Insomnia – People with this condition have trouble falling or staying asleep.
Things that disturb your sleep, such as:
•Sounds – For example, if you have a new baby, he or she might cry and wake you up at night.
•Health conditions, such as restless legs syndrome or nighttime leg cramps.
•Schedule changes that affect sleep – This might include working a night shift or traveling to another time zone.
•Medicines – Certain medicines can cause daytime sleepiness.
How do you Stop Feeling Sleepy?
- Get adequate nighttime sleep.
- Keep distractions out of bed.
- Set a consistent wake-up time.
- Gradually move to an earlier bedtime.
- Set consistent, healthy mealtimes.
- Exercise.
- Keep regular schedule.
- Don’t go to bed until you’re sleepy.
Should I see a doctor?
See a sleep doctor if:
●You are often very sleepy in the daytime.
●You fall asleep in the middle of normal activities.
●You fall asleep in a dangerous situation, such as while driving.
●You see or hear things that are not there.
●When you wake up, you can’t move right away.
●Your muscles feel weak if you laugh or get excited or angry.
Will I need Sleep Test?
Your doctor or nurse will decide which tests you should have. There are many different tests, but you might not need any. It depends on your age, other symptoms, and individual situation… read more about MSLT
Is it bad to sleep a lot?
How can I Stop Feeling Sleepy?
That depends on what is causing your daytime sleepiness. Treatments can include:
●Lifestyle changes – These can include changing your work schedule, taking naps, losing weight, or avoiding caffeine and alcohol.
●Devices you wear at night – These can help people with sleep apnea.
●Medicines – These can help you stay awake in the daytime or sleep better at night.
●Surgery – A few people with sleep apnea have surgery to treat it. However, most people don’t need surgery for daytime sleepiness.
How Much Sleep is too much or too little?
Why my Child has Daytime Sleepiness?
In children,not sleeping enough at night or not having good sleep habits usually causes daytime sleepiness. Some medicines can also make your child sleepy in the daytime.